


A Lot Of Pretty People In This Town (and I got stuck with you)

by Wally_Birb



Series: Smoak'd [10]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: All Hail Princess, BAMF Felicity Smoak, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick Grayson is a Police Officer, Dick Jokes, Dick is Hot, F/M, Felicity can't handle it, I just need this bullshit, I killed it prematurely, It's Finally Done, Not Beta Read, Past Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, She Will Rule Us All, Slow Burn, That's it, Vigilantism, and then I just, but I'm fine with that, didn't stop writing, good luck, i've been writing this, it started off, out of my life, since I first promise a Dick Grayson story, so soft and innocent, that's the premise, the ending isn't anything to write home about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 00:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10525083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wally_Birb/pseuds/Wally_Birb
Summary: Felicity sees Dick. Her thoughts of him range from: hot, okay getting creepy, hot again and helpful omg, friend, best friend, very helpful best friend, OF FUCKING COURSE HE'S A VIGILANTE OKAY WHATEVER, boy you best stop playing with me, and finally oh he was never playing.Dick sees Felicity. His thoughts stay: someone needs to protect this cinnamon roll and if no else is up for the task, I'll fucking do it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry. This got...so long...it's over 40 pages on my google docs...my crops are dying...my family is starving...
> 
> I'm dropping this to satiate some monsters in between now and me having some semblance of enough control over my life to schedule in time for writing.

The first time Felicity sees him, she’s waiting for a bus to get home from work. It was her eighth month in Bludhaven and she still hadn’t gotten around to getting a car, and as sketchy as the public transportation was in this city, she had a taser and nothing was as bad as walking over five miles in heels. She was doing a sudoku puzzle on her phone when he appeared, out of nowhere like a gorgeous ghost, and sat next to her on the bench.

Looking up at his profile made Felicity freeze.

She’d never seen someone so fucking beautiful. And that was saying something, considering the fact that she’d worked with John Diggle, Oliver Queen, Sara Lance, and Barry Allen who were all hotties in their own right. But sitting next to her was a man, at least as tall as Oliver, with jet black hair and brilliant cobalt blue eyes framed by eyelashes that almost looked fake. He had a strong square jawline and cheekbones that should, in all honestly, be illegal.

Not to mention, he was wearing a suit.

Felicity was always a sucker for a man in a suit. Especially the way this man wore his suit. It was tight around his broad shoulders-- _some_ body works out--and unbuttoned around his neck where a tie was loosened. He had that whole rumpled, long day at work, would rather be wearing a t-shirt (or no shirt) look down pat and Felicity, God bless her heart, she was _not ready_.

Because even though Felicity would normally count herself as a rather decent looking person, she was, at that moment, coming off of one of the worst work binges she’d been on since moving from Star City. Her hair had been haphazardly pushed into a high bun about eight hours ago and had since been subject to her fingers pulling at it every thirty minutes. About two hours ago, she’d changed into a t-shirt and joggers because she’d spilled Thai food all down the front of her dress. Thai food that she still smelled like.

So there she was, makeupless, smelling like week old takeout, dressed like a college student, and staring at the man like she’d never seen another human being before.

She was _not_ ready.

She also wasn’t ready for the man to look over at her and smile. _Shit, he’s polite, too._

And Felicity...well, Felicity wasn’t exactly at her finest hour. She felt her lips twist into a too big smile in response. She quickly covered her idiotic expression by looking down at her phone again. Her cheeks were hot, but she ignored them just as hard as she ignored the man beside her.

She could get through this, she thought to herself. After all, it’s not like she’d be in his presence for longer than the bus ride.

Oh how wrong she was.

See, not only was the most gorgeous man on the face of the planet on her bus, but he also got off on her stop. And was walking in the same direction as her.

The most gorgeous man was looking slightly creepier at the moment.

“I promise I’m not following you!” The most gorgeous man blurted out after Felicity looked back at him for the sixth time.

She raised her eyebrows at him and fought off any amusement she might be feeling at his awkwardness. Lord help her, hot people who are also complete dorks are her absolute weakness and from the way he looked sheepish after his outburst told her that the hottest man alive was also a dork and that...that was just _not fair_.

She stood still for a beat so that he could catch up to her and rallied all of her remaining brain function. “Sorry if I’m a little paranoid, I’m coming off of a work binge, and you’ve been walking the same direction as me for a while.”

“No, I absolutely get it,” He assured her which was...nice enough to make Felicity’s stomach flip. She watched as he held up a finger to get her to wait and dug around in his pocket to grab his wallet before holding it open so that Felicity could see his badge. A badge. Not only was he a hot dork, but he was a hot dork and a cop. _Fuck me_. “Trust me, I’m a detective. It’s the smartest thing for you to do to be suspicious. I’m just going to my apartment right now.”

“Me too. My apartment, not yours. Why would I be going to yours?” Felicity laughed nervously and ran her fingers over her hair, pulling at her bun in annoyance at her own brain. “What complex do you live in? If you don’t mind me asking.”

 

“Not at all. I live at Sunrise Springs. Ironic, as I’m sure this part of Bludhaven hasn’t seen sunlight in probably...eighty years? That is before you came along.” The man flirted offhandedly when he noticed the faraway look on her face. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, you’re fine,” _Understatement of the year._ “I’m just surprised that we’ve never seen each other.”

The sexiest man alive looked at her, eyebrows raised in surprise. “You live near Sunrise Springs?”

“I live in Sunrise Springs.” Felicity corrected.

 _Look at you,_ Felicity thought to herself. _Carrying an adult conversation and not freaking out at all that I live in the same building as the literal definition of beauty._

It seemed that she had thought too soon, though, because with the next step she took, she was falling on her fucking face. Or she would’ve if the most beautiful man in the world hadn’t moved (with extraordinary reflexes) to catch her. His hands fumbled around her waist and arm as he jerked her back to her feet.

“Falling for me already?” He quipped as he made sure Felicity was standing steady by keeping one hand on her hip and the other on her shoulder. “You don’t even know my name.”

 

“Distracting,” Felicity muttered before catching herself. “Sorry, um.” She scrambled away from him and kept herself at a safe distance. “Sorry, again, I didn’t- I’d like to blame being being tired but truth is that I’m clumsy and awkward.”

The most beautiful man alive laughed at that, and Felicity didn’t even feel bad. In fact, she gave herself points for her recovery and tried valiantly not to think about how the most beautiful man alive had warm hands and a laugh that made her stomach feel as if she had just taken a swig of perfect hot chocolate: warm, delighted, soothed, and dying for more. She nervously tucked an errant strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear.

“I’m Dick.” The man held out his hand politely because he was a functioning human being. “Well, Richard. Grayson, Richard Grayson.”

“Felicity Smoak.” She smiled and gripped his hand--all business in the face of his dimples.

“Nice to meet you, Felicity.” His grin widened as he squeezed her hand gently before letting her go. “Do you mind if I walk you home? These streets aren’t exactly safe.”

Felicity rolled her eyes--yet another pretty boy ruined by internal misogyny. “Trust me, Dick, I know. I can take care of myself. I had one hand on my taser until you showed me our badge.”

That startled another laugh of him. “I can’t say that I’m surprised. I wasn’t trying to say that you couldn’t take care of yourself, I’m just saying that you don’t have to do it alone.”

“Well,” Felicity gnawed on her bottom lip in contemplation. “I guess there’s no harm, seeing as we’re going to the same place.”

At that, Dick held out his elbow for her to hook her arm through and _damn_ this man was not safe for Felicity’s self control. Reigning herself in, she rolled her eyes and did as expected.

“Oh, knight, please allow me the honor of being thine escort this evening,” The dorky side of Felicity’s brain waxed poetically before the other side of her brain had a chance to stop it. A happy accident, it seemed, because it resulted in Dick’s grin growing even larger.

“It would be mine honor and a privilege, m’lady.” He laughed happily, and somewhere else on the world, Felicity was sure that a kitten sneezed for the first time, or a puppy reunited with its owner, or an angel grew wings.

*

The next time Felicity had a conversation with Dick--not just passing each other in the hallway at inopportune times when Felicity was either covered in sweet, blood, coffee, or some mixture of all or carrying about three hundred ARGUS files to go over--was when the lab that Felicity was visiting (long story) was broken into and Felicity, as well as thirteen scientists, one receptionist, two security guards, and the lab manager were taken hostage.

The gunmen weren’t professionals--they came to the lab for nearly the same reason Felicity did, after hearing a rumor about large advancements in the treatment of HIV, they came to the lab to destroy the research and murder everyone involved. (To be clear, Felicity came to see if the ARGUS lab she was currently running could help, not to murder. She’d had enough of that.) They spouted their homophobic, uninformed rhetoric and waved around their guns, and when they demanded to be told who had the most access to the system, part of Felicity’s brain hated her for how heroic it demanded her to be.

Long story short: Felicity’s glad that she’s a genius who can make phones blow up.

Long story longer: Felicity watched a police sniper murder someone who had been using her as a human shield and she was pretty sure she’d never get the blood out of her hair.

Seeing Dick had been a surprise. Once two of the gunmen had already been put down ( _\--a heavy weight on her back, the cold gun barrel pressed against where the chip had been implanted, her knees aren’t strong enough to keep them both up_ \--) the other four surrendered and were being stuffed into separate cop cars when Dick had come jogging up to her.

There was a fearful expression on his face, but his words just weren’t coming through the rush of blood and white noise pounding into her eardrum at a steady tattoo that fueled the shock. It wasn’t until he had gripped both her of upper arms and had shouted her name a few times that she felt like she could swim back to the surface of whatever was drowning her.

(-- _death, warm and sticky and so much more present than it had ever been. It hasn’t been this bad since she had caused it, fingers frantic over a keyboard, playing a game of life and death. Kill or be killed, but her life wasn’t on the line and it wasn’t simple. It wasn’t a game of numbers. She’d sentenced them. She’d played god and it made her sick. Oliver didn’t understand, but he could sympathize. She left as soon as she could. The bus was warm, but she had never felt colder._ )

“ _-licity! Felicity!_ ” Felicity jerked to attention, blinking up at Dick. The detective looked rumpled once more, his blazer was gone and the sleeves of his buttoned shirt had been rolled up to just below his elbows. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern as he looked between her two newly alert eyes. “You with me?”

“Yeah,” She croaked out before wincing at the state of her own voice. She cleared her throat and continued stronger. “Yeah, I’m here.”

Dick held her gaze for a minute before nodding, mostly to himself. “You scared the shit outta me, neighbor. Why the hell did they even single you out?”

Felicity swallowed a few times to coat her throat before she wa able to answer. “Th- they asked for the person with the most access. The man- manager, she has four kids. I don’t have anyone, and I can- I can get access to any system I want.”

A flicker of anger flashed across Dick’s face before it was replaced with a bone deep sadness and understanding before once more masked by concern. “What do you mean, you can get any access you want?”

“I- I’m good with computers.” She pulled her arms close to her body and began absentmindedly rubbing her hands together for heat. She hadn’t felt the depressing freeze this intensely since she’d ran away.

Dick sighed heavily, using his thumb and first finger to pinch the bridge of his nose, muttering something to himself about having a type. He took in her body language for a beat before gesturing toward the car she’d assumed was his based on the fact that she’d recently seen him getting in and out of it around the complex. He opened the passenger side and retrieved his coat before wrapping it around her shoulders, the wool hanging loosely and far too big around her.

They stayed silent apart from her mumbled thanks as she slipped her arms through and fumbled with his buttons. He let out another sigh as he looked down at her, but she tried not to take it personally. After all, she could still feel the concern radiating off of him.

“I’ll give you ride home after we’re done with you here, alright?” He offered quietly.

“I don’t- you’ve already helped me enough, Dick.” She held up her shaking heads and willed him not to notice. 

“No, I haven’t.” Dick shook his head. “Listen, Smoak, I’m not gonna pretend to know you, but I know that wherever you went back there, it wasn’t related to this. This made you remember something else, triggered something else, and while I’m not going to force you to tell me, I will hate myself if I just let you deal with it alone.”

“I don’t deserve this,” She admitted quietly.

“Tough.” Dick stepped toward her. “I took an oath to protect and serve, not to judge. Besides, I’d like to think that we’re on our way to being friends.”

Felicity swayed, barely enough for her to register the movement, but enough for Dick to notice. He gently held her shoulder and stared down at her searchingly for a beat.

“Plus, I’ve always been a sucker for a damsel in distress.” Dick snarked, a shit eating grin valiantly trying to cover his worried expression. Playing along, Felicity rolled her eyes.

“O’ knight, my knight, thou truly ist my sole saviour in the face of doom.” Felicity drawled in a deadpan tone. 

Dick chuckled. “From my point of view, m’lady, you rescued yourself.” Felicity gave him a small, approving smile, before his captain caught his attention and angrily waved Dick over. “I’ve gotta go work, but you stay here, and I’ll be back when I’m done.”

Felicity nodded, watching him leave wordlessly before sitting in the passenger seat of his car, keeping the door open to keep the in-car light on. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop herself from drifting to that place in her mind, but each time, Dick would make his way over and snap her out of it--each time easier than the last.

*

Felicity had spent ten minute psyching herself up to go down a fall and over two apartments to deliver to Dick his “thank-you-for-not-letting-me-go-insane” gift in the form of homemade chocolate chip cookies--her mother’s recipe and the only culinary skill that both her and her mother had actually managed to master. The thing is, the amount of psych that she’d managed hadn’t included enough to _ring the damn bell_.

Taking a deep breath and promising herself the pint of mint chocolate chip in her freezer, she formed a fist and knocked on Dick’s door, the soft raps somehow echoing in the hallway. She swallowed down her apologies--Dick didn’t seem like the type of person to accept them, anyway--she prepared herself to see him while not under the fog of her own guilt and depression.

It took a minute, and some muffled cursing, but eventually the door opened to a very wet and very shirtless Dick who looked like he’d just gotten out of the shower and pulled on pants before answering the door. He smiled warmly when he saw her, “Felicity! What’s up?”

“Shirtless.” She blurted out, staring at his rather impressive chest before she shook her head to move on from the urge to lick him. “I uh...I was um…”

Dick raised an eyebrow as he watched her flounder before snorting and holding up his finger to tell Felicity to hold on. He disappeared into his apartment, returning while shrugging on a white undershirt. “Better?”

“No.” Felicity closed her eyes and counted down from ten in her mind. “I didn’t say that out loud, right?”

“Definitely didn’t.” Dick gave her a smug look. “You’re holding cookies?”

“Right, yes, cookies! Chocolate chip, to be exact. I didn’t know what you liked so I went with a classic. Also it’s the only thing I can actually make.” She held the plate out to him. “They’re for you.”

Dick’s lips grew into a surprised yet pleased smile as looked from the cookies on the plate to Felicity’s face like she was the most precious person he’d ever seen. He had the kind of smile that made fucking flowers grow, the kind that you couldn’t help returning. Still, it took her raising her eyebrows and pushing the plate towards him again for him to actually grab it. “What’re these for?”

Felicity shrugged and smiled back at Dick nervously. “You kinda kept me sane the other day, and I wanted to thank you.”

“I was just doing my job.” He politely reminded her.

“‘Protect and serve’ doesn’t entail loaning coats, giving rides home, and putting up with panic attacks.” Felicity pointed out, wringing her hands a little bit. “Anyway, I don’t mean to intrude, I just wanted to give you the cookies while they were fresh.”

“You’re not intruding,” Dick shook his head. “You caught me just as I was getting out of the shower.”

“I figured.”

He smiled and gestured inside his apartment. “Do you wanna come in and eat some of these with me? I just got some milk and Pride & Prejudice.”

Felicity’s eyes lit up at the thought of a relaxing afternoon spending time with Dick, who was quickly becoming a friend--a sexually frustrating friend, but a friend nonetheless--but unfortunately, “I have to work. I’m going out of town soon, so I have to scientist proof the lab.”

“The lab?” Dick asked, leaning against his door frame.

“Yeah, I work at a lab as a floor supervisor.” She told him.

“I can give you a ride?”

“Are you sure? I can just take the bus?”

Dick raised his eyebrows. “You’re needlessly brave. The public transportation in this city is horrible.”

“I dare you to find me a bus system anywhere in the world that isn’t horrible.”

“Japan.”

Felicity paused and nodded. “Yeah, no, okay, point taken.”

“Can I give you a ride, Felicity?” Dick asked her. Felicity smiled up at him and nodded. “Alright. Give me a second to grab some shoes and keys.” He motioned for her to step into his apartment for a beat so that he could close the door. She looked around his living room. It was painted a soothing grey-blue with a comfy looking couch and a recliner situated around a dark wood coffee table and facing a medium sized TV. 

Dick placed the cookies down on his dining room table which was currently covered in disorganized files, messy notes, and a half empty mug of coffee. It almost reminded Felicity of her own desk. “Ah, sorry for the mess,” He called over his shoulder and rolled on some socks before grabbing his shoes. “I tend to take my work home with me.”

“No, I was just thinking that it looks like my desk at home.” She shrugged as he stood and grabbed his keys, twirling the ring around his pointer finger.

“You ready to go?”

“I need to stop by my apartment to grab my purse and some folders.” Dick gestured for Felicity to lead the way out of his apartment and into the hallway. After they picked up her purse and a binder nearly bursting with files, Dick led her into the garage.

“So, you’re going out of town?” Dick asked as she put the address to the lab into Dick’s phone’s GPS. Felicity hummed in irritation.

“Yeah, I got told by a close friend that if he didn’t see me alive and well in front of him in 72 hours, he was going to come to my lab and kidnap me.”

“Sounds like a serious friend.” Dick noted cautiously.

Felicity chuckled, realizing the way that sounded. “No, no, he’s being a good friend. He just got back from overseas, and I haven’t been able to get back out to Star in a while. He just wants to make sure I’m not driving myself crazy out here. Also, and I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Bludhaven actually has a pretty high crime rate, so he worries.”

Dick relaxed at that and threw Felicity a gentle smile over his shoulder. “Sounds like a good friend, then. Maybe he should come out here so you can show him that you at least live in a secure building.”

“With a detective who has been looking out for me,” Felicity pointed out.

“A _friend_ , Felicity.” Dick corrected. “It’s not my job to be nice to people who bring me cookies, it’s just an instinct.”

Felicity laughed. “Maybe don’t go pining for more cookies until you taste them.”

“I don’t care if they taste like fresh ass, you _baked cookies_ for me.” Dick’s smile was that wide surprised grin he’d worn when he first realized why Felicity was at his door--a smile that was honestly going to send Felicity into an early grave. “I will eat all of them and I will love them.”

“You’re a good guy, Dick.” Felicity leaned back in her chair and looked out the car window. “Maybe I will invite Digg out here. At least then I won’t have to leave the lab unsupervised.”

“Do your scientists really need to be babysat?” Dick asked, raising his eyebrows at her as he stopped at a red light for a beat before the light turned.

Felicity sighed, withering away right before his eyes. “Let me tell you something about my science buddies, alright? A few of them are genuinely amazing and self aware people, but it’s like having a few nerdy, quiet kids in a classroom full of little monsters who just wanna make shit explode, alright? I have eight scientists that I cycle out and out of them, three of them will actually take breaks and eat and shower and function like normal human beings. Everyone else acts like their parents never taught them how to take a shower that the answer to ‘what if I light this thing on fire’ is almost always ‘this thing will be on fire’.”

Dick snorted at the mental picture. “So, if you’re not scientist proofing your lab tonight, what else are you gonna do?”

“I-” Felicity stopped short and thought about it. She had some side projects and coding that she could work on, but nothing pressing. “I guess I could work on a little project I’ve been doing. Nothing super pressing, though.”

“Wanna play hooky?” He gave her a mischievous grin and Felicity found herself ready to agree to anything he wanted if he’d keep looking at her like that because _dear Lord,_ she was _not ready_.

*

Two hours later saw Felicity leaning back on the hood of Dick’s car as they watched the sunset, laughing together at a story about the circus that Dick had been born into. Dick was pretty much forced to stop mid-story while Felicity was practically curled up, leaning against his shoulder, and trying her hardest not to let another snort out. 

“Oh my god!” Felicity took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and moved away from Dick’s shoulder. “What did you _do_?”

“You mean what did I do when I was buck ass nude, covered in feathers, and caught trying to play with the elephant in the middle of the night when my parents were performing?” Dick raised his eyebrows as he set up the situation for her once more, earning that snort that she’d been trying to stop and he’d secretly reveled in. “Well, I did what any reasonable kid who could feel shame did. I ran the fuck outta there. Right onto the stage.”

“No!” Felicity _howled_ , clutching her sides as laughter overtook her again.

Dick rolled his eyes and gave her tiny shove which only resulted in her laying on her side facing away from him, convulsing with giggles. “Alright, alright, Laugh-a-lot. The deal was one embarrassing story for another. Give up your secrets.”

“G-give me a second!” Felicity managed to get out. It took a hot second for her to stop laughing and pull herself up, but when she did, Dick couldn’t help but notice the flush on her face from laughter and the wide smile...they really did suit her. “Okay, okay, okay...let’s see if I can compete with that.”

Dick looked at her expectantly. “I expect to laugh at least half as hard as you just did.”

Felicity rolled her eyes, but finally remembered her favorite slightly embarrassing and very gratifying memory. “So, I went to MIT. I double majored in Computer Sciences and Cyber Security, and I have a Masters in Advanced AI Theory. I nearly got my doctorate, but I couldn’t afford more schooling, so I decided to move and everything, but the point is: I lived in what was a _very_ male dominated world.

“In one class that I had about robotics--engineering and coding--the prof brought in his friend, an engineer, to look at our projects. I got to that class a little late because I had gotten some bad news recently and wasn’t really at my top game, right? Well I walk in because I already told the normal prof I was running late. And I walk in wearing my normal outfit back then, with was a bright pink cardigan, a sundress with little horses on it, and flats that had little cat faces on them.

“This is all very important, mind you, because not only am I the only girl in the class, but it looks like I was late so that I could spend time doing my hair and makeup. And the guest lecturer just would _not_ let the class forget it, you know? He kept picking on me--and on all women--and my inability to function as a human being. Super sexist, and also really embarrassing. At one point, he divides us up into groups for an experiment/project, right?

“But, he picks two guys from within the class to pick their teams. Now, both of these guys just refuse to pick me even though I’m the best coder in that damn class. Eventually, we’re left with an odd number of kids and I’m sitting there--last one picked, no team, like a bad volleyball flashback.” Felicity started waving her hands around as she continued, making Dick chuckle a bit. “I mean, I understood back in elementary gym why no one would pick me to be on their team, but this time it was pure sexism! I was asked to leave the classroom while the ‘boys’ all made their robots to fight each other! I was so pissed!”

Dick laughed at the thought of a baby Felicity in pink storming out of a classroom. “That’s horrible. What’d you do to get back at them?”

Felicity smirked. “Who said I did anything?”

Dick raised his eyebrows.

“Alright, you got me.” Felicity’s smile grew. “I just built and coded a little robot. Now, remember that I’m not a damn engineer, alright? I just built this little robot and...it might’ve been a baby pink fembot made to destroy all men.”

Dick threw his head back and barked out a joy filled laugh. “Please told me you served them their dicks on a platter!”

“Oh, hell yeah!” Felicity loved remembering the look on that dick’s face. “Both robots were supposed to fight each other and then the guest’s robot, so when I showed up with mine, everyone laughed, right? And then the fights went down and you know your girl went home with a solid A and they all went home with egos beat into place.”

“God, that sounds hilarious.” Dick snickered. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t see it.”

“I think I still have the robot and a picture of me after the tournament because my prof was pumped.”

Dick stood and gestured for Felicity to get off of the hood. “I need to see those right now, immediately.”

“What?” Felicity laughed, but did as he gestured for her to do. “You’re going to drive us all the way back to the apartments so that you can see a picture of me from nearly seven years ago?”

“A picture of you from nearly seven years ago wherein you are owning a bunch of douchey frat boys and an overgrown fuck boy.” Dick opened the driver side door for her, both as a gentleman and an impatient manchild. Felicity laughed and shook her head but obliged him.

“I’m just saying,” She started as she pulled her seatbelt down and Dick basically threw himself into the driver’s seat. “Prepare to be disappointed.”

“In you? Never.”

*

The robot was named Princess and had a quickly fading decal of a Barbie-esque golden tiara on the side of it, and no matter how much Dick called conspiracy, it was something that Felicity genuinely didn’t remember from before. He was gawking over the robot and the picture for a solid five minutes before they were interrupted by Felicity’s cell phone calling her attention away.

“I have to get this,” Felicity gave Dick an apologetic look when she saw Digg’s smiling face holding baby Sara in his arms. “You bond with Princess some more, this won’t take long.”

“You joke, but when Princess takes over the world, she’ll remember that I, Dick Grayson, her loyal servant, was nothing but kind and gentle towards her!” Dick yelled after Felicity as she stepped into her bedroom, rolling her eyes as she answered Digg’s call.

“Hey, Digg.” Felicity greeted him, remnants of laughter from Dick’s general ridiculousness hiding in her voice.

 _“Well, well, you finally answered.”_ Dick answered back, surprised. _“Did you get my message?”_

Felicity leaned against her wall, “Yeah, and I have a compromise for you.”

_“Oh?”_

“Yeah. What do you think about coming out here for a visit soon?”

Digg was silent for a second before he started in on what she and Oliver referred to as his ‘I’m not a therapist, but I’m the closest y’all idiots are gonna get to confiding in someone’ voice. _“Is this about Oliver?”_

She scoffed. “Not everything’s about Oliver, Digg. I’m just...I don’t know, okay? I’m finally feeling settled here. I know that when I called you the other day, I wasn’t great, but that wasn’t a reflection of the general vibe, here.”

_“You were held hostage in a laboratory, Felicity. A man was shot right behind you while you were being used as a human shield. Forgive me if I don’t think that maybe Bludhaven isn’t so much your new home as the place you ended up.”_

“So what?” Felicity asked. “Star was the same way in the beginning. I’ve always been going and going, Digg. Where am I ever gonna get if I don’t let myself put down some roots?”

Digg sighed in that way that meant he understood her point, but didn’t like it. _“I’ll be there in a few days for a week. You got a spare bedroom?”_

“You know it.” Felicity answered. “Don’t book a hotel, they’re all fronts for the mob.”

Another Digg sigh. _“I’m gonna camp out in front of your damn door.”_

“You have back issues.”

_“You really wanna go down that route, little miss got shot up and paralyzed? You think I don’t know that your back still hurts like hell?”_

“It doesn’t hurt that much anymore,” Felicity mumbled to herself.

_”Bullshit.”_

She shrugged. “Tis but a flesh wound.”

 _“You were paralyzed.”_ Digg’s ‘cut a bitch’ tone came out. _“And then volunteered for an experimental procedure--”_ Felicity hung up with an exasperated grin. Digg had been outspoken against the procedure back since it was first brought up. He had been one of her biggest supporters in the whole ‘accept your injury and don’t let it limit your mind’ corner, but sometimes when she looked back, she could see the way Digg was trying his best for her and Oliver was trying his best to fix her.

Like she was broken. Which, she reasoned, she probably was, but not because she couldn’t use her legs. Because she didn’t know who she was anymore. She wasn’t even sure she ever really knew. Felicity had just floated through life, fitting and defying stereotypes any time she felt fit. Hell, even when Oliver had single handedly tanked her career reputation, she just went along with it. Losing her legs had made her look herself in the eyes--literally in the case of that one weird hallucination--and face that shit.

Yet here she was now. A mass murderer, running away from her problems, and taking about four Tylenols a day to alleviate the pain radiating from her back.

“Felicity? Princess moved when I wasn’t looking at her and I’m now 100% sure that the robot revolution is happening,” Dick knocked on her door as he called out to her and pushed it open to see her spacing out hard with her phone held limply in her right hand. He stepped over hesitantly and took it from her before she dropped it. “Hey, Felicity?”

Felicity snapped back into reality at the sight of Dick’s baby blue eyes. “Hm?”

“Hey, are you okay?” Dick asked, a concerned expression flashing across his face. “You had that look on your face.”

“What look? There’s no look. What look?” Felicity asked, tripping over her words.

“The ‘I’ve seen some shit and now I’m remembering all of it’ look.” He guided her to sit down on the edge of her bed. “What’s up? Who was that on the phone?”

“It was Digg. He’s um- he’s my friend that I mentioned before. Sorry,” Felicity pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. “He just made me remember some things.”

“Like what?” Dick asked, absentmindedly rubbing her back up and down.

Felicity’s mouth opened and closed like a fish’s before she settled on a simple explanation that left him with more questions. “I need to go see a doctor soon, is all.”

“What? Why? Are you okay?”

Felicity nodded. “I haven’t been since I had surgery on my back.”

Dick’s hand stopped quickly, unknowingly settling only a few centimeters above the scar that marked the insertion of the chip in her spine. “Felicity. What the hell?”

“I- um…” Felicity bit her bottom lip and gestured for her phone from him. He obliged, likely being one of the few people she’d met who could actually pick up on the fact that she was too unfocused to really speak right now. Instead, she pulled up an article on the shooting and let him skim through it. She felt him go still next to her, his breathing deepening and face darkening at the words on the phone. Once he’d looked up at her for confirmation, she reclaimed the phone and brought up the one article for the Daily Planet that she’d given information to.

“You- you were paralyzed?” Dick choked out as he finished Lois’ article. “And basically brought back by a miracle of science?”

“Yeah.”

Dick let out a heavy breath and fell back on her mattress. The entire action was adorable enough to make her huff out a watery laugh. “That qualifies as seeing some shit. Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah.”

“Does it hurt?” Dick blurted out without thinking. “I mean, if that’s okay for me to ask.”

Felicity chuckled and laid back next to him to stare at the ceiling. “I’ve been getting used to it.”

“What does it feel like?”

“Like a pinch in the base of my spine.” Felicity answered numbly. “And also like I’ve been run over by a semi.”

Dick let out another breath. “Well no shit your bed is so comfortable.”

And like that, he had a giggling Felicity once again.

*

She was honestly, genuinely surprised at how long it had taken before she’d come face to face with Nightwing, Bludhaven’s resident morally questionable badass. She hadn’t even meant to play hero that night. She was walking home from the bus when she heard a scream from a nearby alley. It was instinct more than anything else that had her running toward the scene. The scene, of course, was a teenage boy wearing a gay pride shirt in tears as he was double sided by two clearly drunk and clearly angry white men.

“Hey!” Felicity shouted, pushing one of the men out of the way. “Back the fuck off, alright?”

“What? You gonna stand up for the little fag?” The closer man slurred. “You know he’s not gonna fuck you for helping him, right?”

“God, shut up,” Felicity crinkled her nose up in disgust. “I really hope you’re more likeable when you’re sober.” She kneeled down next to the kid and helped him up. “Go call the police, alright?”

The second man turned bright red in anger at the dismissal and grabbed Felicity by her hair. “I don’t think we gave you permission to call the police, _bitch_.”

Felicity kicked him in the stomach and stabbed his forearm with the keys she kept between her fingers every time she walked alone at night before spinning away from him. “I don’t think I gave you permission to _touch me_ , you sentient tire fire.”

“Alright, why don’t we all just take this down a notch,” Nightwing quipped as he parkoured from the roof of the store next to them down into the alley. Felicity would’ve almost been impressed if she hadn’t seen Sara do it, too. Nightwing carefully put himself between Felicity and the drunks and cocked his head to the side in a daring gesture as the kid cowered behind Felicity. “Why don’t you boys pick on someone your own size?”

“Come on, Kent, that’s that bird guy,” The first drunk whispered to his friend in fear while backing away, but Kent didn’t listen and instead sneered up at Nightwing angrily.

“I don’t care how much of a badass you think you are while you wear that stupid ass mask, I’m not gonna let some homo and a bitch push me around!” Kent hissed.

“Shoulda listened to your friend, Kent,” Nightwing tsk’d before throwing one quick punch at the guy’s nose and knocking him out. “Lightweight.”

“Kent! You just broke his nose, you fucking cunt!” The other guy moved towards Nightwing threateningly before he was soon in his friend’s condition.

Nightwing rolled his shoulders and muttered under his breath about working out before turning to Felicity and the young boy. “Are you two okay?”

Felicity turned to the boy and gently started to rub his back the way Dick rubbed her when it was clear that he was having trouble processing what had just happened. “I’m fine, but I’m probably gonna take Lil Bit here to the hospital.”

“I- I’m fine, really.” The kid shook his head, getting back to reality at the word ‘hospital’.

“You have a cut on your arm, honey, you’re gonna need some stitches at the very least.” Felicity told him gently.

The kid gnawed on his bottom lip before finally admitting, “My family’s poor. I can’t- we can’t afford a hospital.”

Felicity and Nightwing shared a look before determination formed on her features. “I have a pretty extensive first aid kit and an army medic in my apartment. Let me get you stitched up. No cost.”

The kid’s eyebrows went up at the same time Nightwing’s did, but then a small, hesitant smile came on his face. “Are you sure? I could help you out? I’m not sure I feel comfortable letting you do that for nothing, I mean you’re just a stranger--”

“My name’s Felicity Smoak.” She interrupted him. “And if you’re really set on it, I won’t stop you from doing the dishes.”

“I’m Graham. Ackerman.” The kid answered and offered Felicity a handshake. “Thank you.”

“Thank me after you stop losing blood, alright?” Felicity tugged off her scarf and wrapped it around the cut to squelch the bleeding a bit before she turned to Nightwing. “Thank you for that save.”

“That? Seemed like you had it under control.” Nightwing shrugged it off in an annoyingly familiar move. “You need help getting home?”

“I’m good.” Felicity gestured with her key filled fist. “You should probably drop them off at the police station to sleep it off.”

“Yeah,” Nightwing shuffled closer and seemed to debate something before pulling away to look over at the drunks. “Be careful, Ms. Smoak.”

“I always am,” Felicity rolled her eyes.

“Says the woman who ran into a confrontation against two huge drunk men.”

“Says the vigilante.”

*

“I found a stray and we need to patch him up,” Felicity announced to Digg as she bursted in, causing Digg to jump a little bit from his place stretched out on his couch, watching Felicity’s recorded collection of Criminal Minds. She let Graham walk into the apartment in front of her and took her scarf off of Graham’s arm to show Digg the cut.

Digg sighed heavily. “I’ll go wash my hands, you grab the--”

“Thread and fishing hook, got it. I still have the first aid kit you made me.”

“The one you wouldn’t need if you weren’t so insistent on bringing home strays all the damn time.”

“Twice! It was twice!”

“I know for a fact that all of us crashed on your couch from Laurel and Sara to Roy and even Thea. Don’t try that with me.”

“How’s it going being big brother to all of the newbies?” Felicity asked as both of them got back to the table where Felicity and motioned for Graham to sit, neither of them backing down as they did their tasks. 

“Low blow, Smoak.” Digg rolled his eyes. “Alright kid, the nanny of the year doesn’t have anything other than Tylenol and that’s a blood thinner, so this is gonna hurt a lot. I got you this towel. Put it in your mouth and bit the fuck down. I will get through with this as soon as possible. It’s not a big cut, so it won’t take too long, I just need you to trust me.”

Graham looked between the two of them, surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere. He settled on looking up at Felicity. “Do you trust him?”

“With my life,” She answered, offering Graham the towel. He nodded to both of them and accepted the the towel numbly before gripping it with his teeth and preparing himself for the worst.

True to his words, Digg didn’t take long. Graham gave them both grateful hugs before begging off. Apparently his boyfriend had been kicked out by his parents and he had been out this late to try to find him. Felicity wished him luck and told him to call her if he needed anything while Digg nursed a beer on her couch. When she sat down next to Digg, the exhaustion from the day finally caught up to her.

“Tired?” Digg smiled knowingly. Felicity nodded. “Maybe you shouldn’t have worked overtime, walked home alone, and then challenged two drunk thugs to a brawl over a kid’s impugned honor.”

“You’ve been reading a lot, haven’t you?” Felicity raised an eyebrow at him.

Digg shrugged. “There’s not a lot to do in your downtime in the Army.”

Felicity laughed a little bit and slipped off her shoes before stretching out on the couch. Digg allowed her to rest her feet in his lap with minimal complaining as they both stared at the TV screen, neither really seeing what was happening on tonight’s rerun of Cake Boss.

“Alright, Smoak.” Digg breathed out, holding her feet in his lap so that she couldn’t bolt. “We need to talk about what you’re doing here.”

“Watching Cake Boss until I fall asleep.” Felicity evaded his question with practiced ease.

“In _Bludhaven_.” Digg emphasized. He turned off the TV and pinned her with an unimpressed look. “A relocation you made without telling anyone.”

Felicity shrugged, a cagey expression taking over her face. “I didn’t really feel like hearing what you all tried to tell me.”

Digg rolled his eyes. “Felicity, last year--”

“I _don’t_ want to talk, Digg!” She practically shouted, her Loud Voice coming out to play.

“Well, too bad!” Digg responded in kind, not backing down. “You and I have been through much for me to just give up on you right now!”

Felicity wretched her feet from his grasp and practically leaped up, started to pace the length of her living room. Digg stood calmly for a second before continuing.

“Last year nearly broke all of us. Literally.” He let out a sorrow filled laugh. “We all went through things-- _did_ things that none of us were prepared for. I get it. I understand running away. I did it, too. At this point, we all have. The difference right now is that you’re not showing signs of coming back and instead of coming after you the way we went after Oliver and you and Oliver came after me, we decided to leave you to sort it out. But you’re not. You’re ignoring it.”

“I _can’t_ ignore it.” Felicity hissed. “Every time I close my damn eyes, I remember it. Every time I see a damn memorial, I see a Remember Havenrock post on Twitter or instagram, every time I see people comparing Donald "When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo?" Trump and Darhk, I remember. That’s the thing about being a mass murderer, Digg, it makes it hard to sleep at night.”

Digg let out a breath through his nose, moving towards Felicity, but aborting the movement when she flinched away. “Felicity, you know that it wasn’t your--”

“My fault.” Felicity finished, shaking her head. “It was just numbers. I know. I know all of this. Darhk released the nukes. I saved people. Lyla and Thea and Barry, they’ve all already tried the same kind of thing, alright? But if I didn’t change the flight pattern, those people would still be alive.” Felicity scrubbed her hands over her face, feeling her frown settle in a way that was all too easy. “How can I- I’m a monster, Digg. You all died and I get to live. I’m a murderer.”

“You’re _not_ a murderer!” Digg practically roared. “You did what you had to do! Anyone in your position would’ve had to do the same! You saved lives!”

“I played judge and jury and now thousands of people are dead!” Felicity yelled back, tears in her eyes. “Nothing you can say will change that! Hell, _Flashpoint_ didn’t even change that!”

Digg ran his hand over his head. He turned away from Felicity before turning back with a severe look. “You can either wallow in your guilt or you can use it to make sure that something like this never happens again. You can stop the next Damien Darhk, but instead you’re playing around in _Bludhaven_ because you want to stay around people who would never think that you’re capable of more. You’re too good for this, Felicity. You have too much goodness inside of you to hide away like this.”

“Yeah? Sure, let’s say I stop the next Damien Darhk. What do I do against the one after that or the one after that!?” Felicity clenched her fists and glared up at Digg. “Why is it on me to stop them? The messes keep coming, and I can’t keep up anymore. I’m sick and tired of pretending that I could save the world anyway. We have an endless supply of power hungry narcissists, and all of that goodness inside of me is being ripped away bit by bit every time I go up against one.”

Understanding flashed across Digg’s face, taking some of the air out of his sails. “So that’s it, then? You’re done? You’re too busy protecting yourself?”

“And protecting the world _from_ me.” Felicity passed Digg to get out of the room, his disappointment too thick in the air. “Someone has to.”

*

The thing about storming out was that Felicity stormed out of her own apartment and thus she had to go back at some point. She couldn’t even call anyone because her phone just happened to be in her purse. On her coffee table. In her apartment. With other necessities such as her shoes and her keys. She hadn’t really been prepared to run away this time, it seemed.

And that was another thing. There she was again, running away from her own transgressions. Hiding from John motherfucking Diggle, her best friend in the entire world, her long time rock and shoulder to cry on, the person that she went to _Russia_ with _Isabel Rochev_ for, and the only person who really understood what she’d done who had bothered to try to come after her.

And instead of handling that conversation like a damn adult, she’d yelled and screamed and ran away. God, she couldn’t handle it. She felt so raw every time she even looked at Digg because of the understanding on his face. She could go back to her apartment. She could avoid him, but that would still mean being around his damn empathy that he could practically smother her with. She owed him a few dozen apologies, but she couldn’t handle his damn...face and his stupid expressions.

So instead she was camped out on the staircase outside of her apartment, one long blink away from drifting off and shivering slightly from the cold of the night seeping in from the outside and the lack of heat from her coat which was--you guessed it--in her apartment.

At some point in the night, she must’ve ended up drifting off because the next thing she knew, she was jolting awake to the sound of footsteps going up the stairs. She blinked, wide eyed at the very surprised face of one Detective Richard Grayson.

“Hey,” Dick’s lips pulled into a grin that looked more like instinct than effort, but then he noticed the state that the blonde was in. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Felicity shook her head and smiled helplessly as Dick sat down next to her. She leaned into his shoulder, his arm a welcome heat. “How do you manage to do that?”

“Do what?” He asked, confused.

“You always find me when I’m a damn mess.” Felicity explained, running a hand through her hair.

Dick smirked slightly. “It’s my superpower. I have a sixth sense for beautiful women in distress.”

“Don’t flirt with me right now,” Felicity rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder against Dick’s.

“Sorry, no can do. I’ll be happy to call you stunning a million times over as long as it keeps making you smile instead of whatever sadness was going on before.” Dick wrapped his arm around Felicity’s shoulders and pulled her into him, not pushing her to talk, but allowing her to take comfort in his presence. Felicity let herself melt into his side, resting her head on his shoulder in exhaustion. “Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you about something.”

“Shoot,” Felicity murmured.

“Do you know anything about these two bums who Nightwing dropped off at the station tonight? One of them claims that a tiny blonde woman in glasses stabbed him with her keys.” Dick raised his eyebrows at her. “And it just happened to be on your route between the bus station and here at about...oh 8 o’clock? About the time you usually make your way home from work?”

Felicity blinked up at him in a very convincing portrayal of innocence, minus the slight smirk on her lips. “Oh, my! I can’t believe such a thing would occur on my route! Unfortunately, I must’ve missed it. You see I was helping with nice boy, Graham, find his boyfriend tonight.”

“You’re a piece of work, Felicity.” Dick shook his head, but he was grinning. “Did he deserve it?”

“I can’t imagine that young woman would attack unprovoked.” Felicity shrugged.

Dick laughed. “Alright, blondie, I’ve got to eat. Do you want me to walk you to your apartment?”

“I’m spending the night out here,” Felicity muttered, half hoping Dick wouldn’t hear it. The confused and concerned expression was back on his face in a second, though.

“You lock yourself out?” Dick asked.

“Something like that.” Dick hummed. He made no movement to get up, though. After a long beat of silence, Felicity looked up at him in her own confused state. “I thought you needed to eat.”

Dick looked at her incredulously. “I’m not leaving you out here alone. There’s a blonde maniac on the loose going after people with car keys and you are defenseless, shoeless, and coatless.”

“Dick-” Felicity started.

“No.” Dick shook his head. “Look, we have a few options here. We can stay out here, I could take you up to my apartment, or I could walk you to yours, but I’m not leaving you alone. You were practically asleep when I found you, and even though you’re smiling now, your puffy, red eyes have yet to disappear. I’d like to think that we’re buds. Buds don’t let buds cry alone in stairwells.”

“Buds?” Felicity raised her eyebrows, but she could feel warmth from the sentiment. 

Dick rolled his eyes in response, and when he stood, she let him pull her up. “So, my place or yours?”

“I should leave you alone for that pick up line alone.” Felicity groused. Dick smirked and waited for her to gesture up the stairs, towards Dick’s apartment.

“Nice choice. I have cookies that need devouring...and spaghetti for dinner.”

*

“Are you ever gonna tell me what’s haunting you?” Dick asked in a hushed tone over milk and cookies.

Felicity took a deep breath and looked away. “I don’t know. I couldn’t even talk to Digg about it.”

Dick nodded, accepting the answer. “Alright. Just so you know, though...buds always listen.”

Felicity cracked a smile. “Stop calming me your bud. Buds don’t flirt!”

“Who says buds can’t flirt!”

“I say so! And you flirt with me so…” Felicity gave him a ‘what can you do’ shrug. 

“Do you want me to flirt?” Dick leaned forward. They had already been sitting next to each other, but there was always room to get closer. “Do you want me to whisper sweet nothings in your ear?”

“Bro, you can’t do that if we’re buds.” Felicity fought off laughter.

“Bro, no one has to know.”

“Bro, I don’t want to be your secret bro.”

“Bro, I will tell the world that we’re bros.”

“Do it, bro. Tell the world that we’re bros.”

“ _We’re bros_.”

“Why did you whisper, bro?”

“Because you’re my world, bro.”

Felicity bursted out into a giggle fit. “That was _so_ bad.”

“I was rather proud of it.” Dick announced as he settled back into his seat.

*

Felicity spent that night on Dick’s couch, alternating between fitful bouts of sleep and tiredly looking through Dick’s case files to try to find connections that Dick hadn’t seen. She highlighted a few things in a couple of different cases and pulled up a program on Dick’s laptop that would help him track the sell of a few diamonds on the black market.

Busy work, really.

When she finally fell asleep for the night, she only had a few hours before Dick was shaking her awake with a sharp look in his eyes.

“Did you go through my cases last night?”

“Yeah,” Felicity murmured snuggling back into the pillow Dick had thrown at her before he’d gone to bed. Dick smiled helplessly at the way she basically decided to go back to sleep.

“What did you mean when you circled this?” Dick asked, not quite ready for her to go back to sleep, even though he knew she needed it.

“‘S the shell company.” Felicity slurred. “Lord Tech.”

Dick hummed. “As in Maxwell Lord?”

Felicity nodded into his pillow and blinked sleepily up at him. “Mmm...can I sleep now?”

“Yeah, Felicity,” Dick chuckled, knowing that she was up far later than he was the night before. Without consulting his brain, his fingers ran through her hair gently--smiling when she leaned into the touch. “Get some rest. I’ll wake you up in an hour?”

“Sounds good.” She mumbled, her eyelids growing heavy before fluttering closed.

Dick shook his head and reluctantly pulled away from her to look over his file with the new information. Maxwell Lord wasn’t exactly a big player in Bludhaven, but if he was planning on moving into town, it seemed that he would need a visit from the friendly neighborhood vigilante. Looking back at the blonde on his couch, he wondered if she’d ever let herself get close enough to him to find out his secret.

He wondered if her secret compared to his.

*

Felicity had ten minutes of sleep left when Dick was pulled out of his work by a particularly persistent rapping on his door. He looked through the peephole and was even more confused by the tall black man looking up and down the hallway anxiously. Dick opened his door and raised his eyebrows at the man. “Hello.”

“Hi, are you Dick Grayson?” He asked. He had the bering of a soldier, but the beginnings of what looked like laugh lines. Dick would guess that he was in his mid-30’s. Taller and bulkier than Dick in a way that made him think that he wouldn’t immediately want to fight him, but the general vibe of a protective friend or worried father. “I’m John Diggle, I’m--”

“Felicity’s friend.” Dick recalled, relaxing a scooch. “Yeah, she told me you were visiting. Digg, right?”

Digg smiled anxiously, “Yeah, about her--did you see her last night? We had a bit of a disagreement and she never came back to the apartment, and I have her phone and keys.” Digg held up Felicity’s items--a keyring with a little teddy bear charm and one of those outlines of a cat face where if you put your fingers through the ears, you can throw one hell of a punch, and a phone with a honey bee themed case.

“Yeah, I uh- she’s…” Dick trailed off and pointed at the couch behind him where Felicity let out a soft snore.

Digg breathed out a sigh of relief that made Dick feel a bit better about the man. “She spent the night here?”

Dick nodded. “Yeah, she wanted some time to think, and busy work, too, I guess. She went through my case files. She knows that she shouldn’t be interfering in open investigations, right? That’s not a habit of hers?”

“No, of course not.” Digg smiled like he was the only one aware of the irony in the situation. “She knows exactly when and how to let things go.”

“I feel the sarcasm levels in this room rising.”

Digg snorted and shook his head. “When you wake her up, can you tell her that I made her favorite donuts?”

“I’m up!” Felicity sat up hurriedly, the blanket pooling in her lap.

Digg and Dick gave her matching unimpressed looks, but Dick cracked first, a small smile playing on his lips. “How long have you been up?”

“Drifting since you asked me about Lord earlier.” Felicity admitted, standing and looking down to realize that she was wearing Dick’s sweatpants and one of his t-shirts. “Oh, right. Where did I put my clothes?”

“They’re on the bathroom counter.” Dick answered easily, amused at her sleepy absentmindedness.

Digg raised his eyebrows. “Why are you wearing the nice detective’s clothes?”

“He spilled spaghetti on me and sleeping in leggings is next to impossible. Also, I’m used to sleeping without pants, but that’s impolite and the only thing in the world that’s nearly as comfy as no pants is too-big sweatpants.” Felicity explained, looking around on the couch before finding her ponytail holder and pulling her hair up into a quick bun. 

“I’m sure you were real against the whole pantsless sleeping option,” Digg sent Dick a challenging smirk.

Dick held up his hands in surrender. “I do as the lady tells me to.”

“Smart man.”

“Where are--” Felicity squinted as she picked up the pillow, blanket, and then searched the end table next to the couch. Dick huffed out a laugh and grabbed her glasses from the coffee table, offering them to her with a smirk. “Yes, that! Thank you!”

Dick smiled as Digg stepped into his apartment, waiting on Felicity to gather her stuff to make the trip down to her place. “Consider it the beginning of repaying you for illegally helping me with these cases.”

“Semantics.” Felicity threw Dick a challenging look over her shoulder and began folding the blanket she was using. 

“That’s not what that means.” 

Felicity shrugged. “Semantics.”

Digg snorted.

*

“You should ask Dick out.” Digg told Felicity just as she had started swallowing a mouthful of donut, earning a choked off noise and a bit of panicked coughing from the blonde--who was still wearing the detective’s clothes.

She gulped down some coffee and leveled a glare at Digg. “How dare you?”

“How dare I what?”

“You did it on purpose, don’t give me that shit.”

Digg snickered. “Okay, yeah, but that doesn’t invalidate the point I was making.”

Felicity rolled her eyes and took another bite of the homemade donut. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

“Why not?” He asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Because...Digg, look at him, and then look at me.” Felicity put down her donut, suddenly not hungry anymore. “He’s a hot detective--the kinda guy who has seen the worst of the world and still won’t let anyone stop him from doing good. I’m...I’m a nerd who has only made everything she touched worse.”

“Hey.”

Felicity looked up at Digg’s face--his face the same expression he always made when she spoke self deprecatingly, his mouth in a hard line and his eyes sharp enough to cut diamonds.

“You’re talking about my best friend, so I’m gonna have to ask you to lay off, alright?”

She felt the corner of her mouth raise at that, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Digg let his face soften. “And I happen to think that you’re amazing, and anyone who ever has the honor of being with you is lucky. Bitch with Wi-Fi, remember?”

Felicity smiled at that memory, looking down at her donut. “Hey, Digg?”

“Felicity?” Digg mimicked her tone.

“Do you think...would you be willing to- I think I need to talk...about Havenrock.” Felicity admitted. “And...and I think that...that maybe you would be a good person to talk to. If your offer to listen still stands, that is.”

Digg blinked at her for a beat before practically beaming at her. “I’d love to listen.”

*

Digg left after spending two weeks together, but they had decided to implement a very strict weekly call wherein both parties let off steam and actually talked about the shit plaguing them. It was like therapy--but with someone that both of them could be honest with when it came to their general life experiences without, you know, worrying about being arrested.

Work was practically destroying Felicity, though. She was at the end of her rope. The higher ups in ARGUS were demanding endlessly impossible inventions, and her scientists were becoming excruciatingly out of control. She was pretty sure they were also having a prank war in the lab which would be a very bad thing that would be stopped immediately...as soon as she found some solid evidence.

Bumping into Dick became something that was getting more and more commonplace. It seemed that he would get home from work at the same time she’d get to the apartments. He would walk her to her door, often times nosing his way in to either get a new environment to think about a case, or to have dinner together--usually takeout.

Tonight, Dick’s car was in the parking lot, but Dick wasn’t there. Felicity sent him a text to ask if he was down for rubens tonight. When she didn’t get a reply, she figured that he was in work mode so she made a slight detour to go up to his apartment, knocking softly on the door.

She jumped when she heard a crash from the other side of the door.

“Dick?” She yelled in concern.

There was a pause before she heard Dick’s voice. “Felicity?”

“Yeah, I heard a crash. Are you okay?” Felicity asked.

“I’m good, just-” His voice came out slightly strangled.

Felicity rolled her eyes and tried the doorknob, finding it unlocked. “I’m coming in.”

“Wait, don’t--” Dick started as Felicity opened the door to come face to face with…

“Nightwing.” Felicity breathed out. They both stared at each for a beat before Felicity gathered herself and calmly closed the door. She counted down from ten in her head before looking at Dick’s now mask-free face. “Fuck.”

“Took the word right out of my mouth.” Dick tried to joke, his entire body stiff and full of tension.

Felicity shook her head. “I have a type. Of course I have a type. One, two--those weren’t enough. _Three_ wasn’t enough!” Dick blinked at her in confusion as she started to laugh humorlessly. “Every damn time!”

“I’m lost.” He admitted.

“Am I really just catnip for vigilantes?” Felicity asked him--he was pretty sure it was rhetorical, but it did shock him.

“You- you’ve met other vigilantes?” Dick’s surprised voice stopped her.

“Of course I have! I worked with the Arrow, the canaries, Flash, and like ten others every now and then!” Felicity threw her arms up in the air in frustration. “I used to live in Star City, Dick! It’s crawling with damn vigilantes! You can’t throw a damn brick without Spartan yelling at you for property damages!”

Dick blinked at her.

“This is insane! I came here to get away from vigilante shit!” Felicity huffed and crossed the room to get a closer look at his arm, where he was bleeding slightly from the knife of a particularly lucky drug dealer. “Do you need help with this?”

“It’s just a scratch,” Dick answered without thinking. “I need to...change.” He looked down at Felicity for a second before continuing. “When I’m done we should talk.”

“Good idea.” Felicity pursed her lips together. “I’m gonna order rubens for dinner.”

“Sounds good.” Dick numbly left the room before returning to close the window he’d come in through.

*

“Does this mean that I’m right about Bruce Wayne being Batman?” Felicity asked halfway through Dick’s telling of his tragic backstory.

“I mean- it’s rude to interrupt, Smoak.” He narrowed his eyes at her playfully.

Felicity shrugged and finished off her sandwich, snagging one of Dick’s pickle slices. “Well, the whole vigilante thing was weird, but the formula seems to be the same every time. Tragic thing happens, training occurs, and bam! Vigilante!”

“So what tragic thing happened to you?”

“Ah, I am not a vigilante. I am simply vigilante adjacent.” She corrected, but Dick’s expression made it clear that he wasn’t going to let her non-answer slide. “I guess my hacker dad abandoned my family when I was a kid? My mom worked all of the time so I grew up in casinos. When I was at MIT I did a stupid thing and my boyfriend got sent to jail for it. I thought he committed suicide.”

Dick let out a low whistle. “That’s tough. What happened with that?”

“You know that Brother Eye cyber terrorist attack on Star a couple years ago?” Felicity raised her eyebrows at Dick. “That was him. He was using my virus to do it, too. He went to jail, and was busted out, and killed by Damien Darhk.”

“That’s wild.” Dick hummed. “My ex-girlfriend was trained to be Batgirl with me before she was paralyzed by the Joker.”

“I dated the Flash for about two days before he was struck by the lightning that put him in a coma and gave him his speed.” Felicity raised her eyebrows.

“I dated an alien who kissed me to learn English.”

“I dated an assassin who died and then came back to life without a soul before my then-fiancé’s old friend, a magician, had a seance to retrieve her soul. Oh, also, my fiancé was her ex-boyfriend.” She leaned back in her chair and gave Dick a challenging smirk.

Dick snickered and held his hands up in surrender. “Alright, Smoak, you win.”

“Can I choose my reward?” Felicity grinned. Dick raised his eyebrows in curiosity. “Pretty please, let me see your setup.”

*

“Let me teach you how to defend yourself.” Dick started, a week into Felicity running comms for him. Felicity turned around in the chair that had migrated into the warehouse where his computer setup was and looked up at him with a disbelieving expression.

“Now?” 

Dick shrugged. “Not right now exactly, you’re not quite dressed for it. But starting this tomorrow, bi-weekly sessions designed to get you ready to defend yourself.”

“I’m not exactly defenseless, you know?” Felicity tilted her head to the side. “Digg has been training me for about four years.”

“And Digg has arms that I’d rather not mess with but I’ve been training since I was eight years old and the people who we go up against aren’t going to go any easier on you than they’ll go on me.” Dick held out his hands to Felicity to pull her out of her chair. “If you can’t at least hold your own against me, I won’t feel comfortable involving you in anything.”

Felicity pursed her lips and looked up Dick. “You realize that I’m not a mask, right?”

“You realize that having a hacker--and a pretty blonde female--in the field is near to invaluable, right?” Dick pointed out. “You asked to help me out here. I deal with the mob out here, and Italians do enjoy pretty things.”

“I’m not a thing, Dick.” Felicity rolled her eyes. “And I have to go to work.”

“Tomorrow, Felicity.” Dick pointed at her strictly while she walked away. “Bring workout clothes. I’m partial to yoga pants.”

“Sweats it is!” Felicity called over her shoulder.

*

A distant part of Felicity’s brain figured that the mats underneath her were probably a blessing, despite the aches in her hips and shoulders from falling. As Dick managed to throw Felicity back on the ground, she rolled from her shoulder to lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Come on, get back up.” Dick grinned down at her. Felicity starfished across the mat and gave Dick a lovely view of her middle finger. He laughed and shook his head. “Come on, you did better that time!”

“I should hope so. How long have we been at this?”

“It’s only been a month, Felicity. Get up.” Dick held out a hand for her. She grabbed the offered limb and pulled herself up. 

“I meant how long today, smart ass.”

“Just half an hour,” Dick snickered. “Do you wanna take a break, then?”

Felicity stretched her shoulders and neck, feeling the burn across her back. “That would be advisable.”

“Hey,” Dick tossed Felicity a water bottle, chuckling when she fumbled with catching it. “You know I’m not just being nice when I tell you that you’re getting better, right? I’m surprised that _Digg’s_ training was geared so heavily on a small person getting the edge on a bigger person.”

Felicity shrugged and drank some of her water. “You’re not my first tiny trainer, Dick.”

“Which Canary trained you?” Dick smirked. “I’m betting on the White Canary because the Black Canary fights more like a boxer, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was both of them.”

Felicity smiled and shrugged as she gulped down some more water.

“Don’t do me like that, Smoak.” Dick shook his head. “Hey, I have a...request for you.”

“What’s up?” She asked, setting down her water bottle to start doing some cool down stretches. Dick moved over to his bag and offered Felicity a white card. She took it between two of her fingers and flipped it over. “The Wayne Foundation Charity Ball?”

Dick nodded. “I need a date, one who won’t freak out when the gala is inevitably attacked by Killer Croc or Penguin.”

“First of all, that’s no way to ask someone on a date. Second of all, I would still freak out if a giant fucking crocodile crashed the party.” Felicity smiled up at Dick.

Dick laughed and stepped closer to her, looking down at her pleased expression. “Felicity Megan Smoak, will you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to the Wayne Foundation Charity Ball next month?”

“How do you know my middle name?” Felicity asked, tapping Dick’s chest absentmindedly.

“I do my homework when people walk in on me changing out of my uniform.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “You make that sound a hell of a lot more scandalous than it was.”

“Well?”

“Well what?” Felicity raised her eyebrows at him, being purposefully obtuse.

Dick let out a little huff and looked Felicity in the eyes seriously. “Will you be my date to my foster dad’s ball that will undoubtedly get attacked?”

“Sounds fun.” The two smiled at each other, a gentle tension in the air. “Back to training?”

“Let’s see if you can beat me this time.” Dick dared her, intending to catch her off guard, but instead earning a light breeze from the whip of her ponytail as she danced away from him.

*

The first time that Felicity actually managed to get Dick flat on the ground during one of their training sessions was only a few days before the Charity Ball. It had honestly been an accident--a miracle that she landed on top of him instead of laid out next to him. Instead, she was straddling his waist, breathing heavily, and staring down at Dick with as much surprise in her expression as Dick was staring up at her with.

Before, that is, the sequence of events caught up to both of them. Dick’s smile grew with pride as Felicity started apologizing to him.

“Don’t apologize!” Dick laughed, sitting up as she scrambled off of him. “That was good! Not super clean, and obviously an accident, but you got me on my back!”

Felicity blinked at him before her own slow grin began to grow. “I got you on your back!”

“That’s my girl!” Dick pulled her into a tight hug in celebration. “That was great!”

“Alright, let’s go again!” Felicity was grinning as she jumped up, new adrenaline pumping through her veins, despite the flush on her cheeks. Dick nodded as he got up and squared up, facing her determined face with relish.

“This from the girl who I basically dragged into training kicking and screaming.” Dick murmured. “I’m so proud of you,” He cooed, dodging Felicity’s fist.

*

If there was one person in the world that Felicity didn’t expect to see at the Wayne Foundation Charity Ball, it was Roy motherfucking Harper. After walking in while teasing Dick, it was the rough call of “Blondie” that had her turning around.

“Roy!” Felicity grinned and pulled the kid into a tight hug. “My sweet, small child, it’s been too long!”

“Nice to see you on your feet, blondie!” Roy chimed at her.

“Nice to see _you_ in a monkey suit!” Felicity beamed as she fixed his tie for him. 

Roy grimaced and rolled his eyes. “Don’t mention it. Why are you here? I didn’t realize that you were in with the Gotham City elites.”

“You’re one to talk.” Felicity crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. “Did you end up settling in Gotham after the last time we ran into each other?”

“Yeah. We should compare notes,” Roy nodded and looked up at Dick, who was standing behind Felicity politely. “This guy with you or is he lurking?”

“Why can’t he be both?” Felicity asked, turning to Dick. “Roy, this is my friend, Dick Grayson. Dick, Roy Harper.”

Roy looked between the two of them and hummed. “Dick. Fitting.”

“Har har.” Dick smiled humorlessly. “And who are you crashing this party with?”

“Jason Todd.” Roy pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

Dick straightened and looked over Roy’s shoulder to see his little brother. “Shit, Jay told me he wasn’t coming to schmooze Gotham’s one percent.”

Felicity took in the way Roy was shifting slightly and his hair was fixed over his ears. “Compare notes indeed.” Roy and Felicity shared a knowing look before Felicity looked at Dick. “Why don’t you go talk to Jason while Roy and I catch up?”

“Why do I feel like that’s not an actual question?” Dick asked as he walked towards Jason.

Felicity watched Dick walk away before turning to Roy and raising her eyebrows. “Who are you on comms with?”

“How did you know?” Roy asked, unsurprised. Felicity smirked a little bit and didn’t answer. “You’ve spent too much time with Digg.”

“You’re deflecting.”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Who are you on comms with?”

“Dick, your turn.”

“Jason.”

Roy and Felicity both turned to where the bat boys were conversing, a younger kid with black hair and none other but the Bruce Wayne coming over to join them. “Bat boys got you, too, huh?”

Roy groaned, “Just don’t tell him.”

“Hate to break this to you, little arrow,” Felicity bumped her shoulder against his, “But he can already hear me because of those handy little comms.” From across the room they watched Jason’s face light up in a smirk as he said something to Dick that made both of them laugh.

_“I like her.”_

*

“Are you okay?” Dick asked her the the millionth time after Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy were carted off to Arkham. “How’s the ankle?”

“I told you, I’m fine.” Felicity huffed, holding her heels in one hand while clutching Roy’s arm for balance with the other. “Roy, tell the man that I’ve had worse.”

Roy rolled his eyes and focused on watching Tim and Jason bicker back and forth behind Bruce’s chair in front of the batcomputer. “Is it always this hectic?”

“Only when there are half a dozen or more heroes on the premises.” Alfred answered. He looked down at Felicity’s sprained ankle and gestured for her to hand him her shoes and take his arm. “Please, Miss Smoak, allow me to take a look at that for you.”

“Alright,” Felicity agreed easily and let him guide her to the small med bay in the batcave.

“Why do you agree when he asks?” Dick whined as he and Roy trailed behind them.

“Because I like him better.”

“Thank you, Miss Smoak.”

“That’s fucking rude, Felicity! I’m telling Princess how mean you are to me. When she enslaves the human race, she’ll fuck you up.”

“ _Stop giving my robots genders, Dick!_ ”

“So, you two are totally dating, right?” Roy asked, helping Felicity on the small medical bed.

Dick smirked. “I keep asking, but she keeps deflecting.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “He keeps joking about it and I don’t accept date invitations unless they’re serious.”

Dick blinked at her for a second. “Felicity, I’ve been serious this entire time.”

Felicity furrowed her eyebrows together, looking confused until she sighed and stared at a point in between Roy and Dick with an expression that was to describe without slipping into meme usage. ~~Hello darkness my old friend. All round me are familiar faces. They ask you how you’re doing and you have to say you’re fine but you’re not--~~

“Oh.” She answered finally, shooting a glare at Roy when he started snickering like the little asshole he was.

Dick chuckled and shook his head. “Felicity, would you like to go out on a date with me tomorrow afternoon for coffee?”

“Yes, I would like that very much.” Felicity answered before wincing when Alfred moved her ankle.

“I’m afraid you may have cracked a bone in your ankle, Miss Smoak. We’ll need to take some x-rays.” He explained in a gentle voice.

“Ha! I fucking knew you weren’t okay!” Dick waggled his finger in Felicity’s face victoriously. Felicity slapped it away and flipped him off.

“True love,” Roy rolled his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Go follow me on social media:
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